y 1 



o Paper-Shell Pecan 

AND 

The Satsuma Orange 





FOURTH EDITION 



South Orchards Company 

MOBILE, ALABAMA 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 




The late Colonel W. R. Stuart 

Founder of the Pecan Industry 



The 
PAPER-SHELL PECAN 
s£ The SATSUMA ORANGE 

Their development — Native Soils — Where 
they hear best — Money made growing them 
— How bearing orchards can be bought — How 
they can be paid for — What they will pay 



NO STOCKS NO BONDS 

NO COLONIZATION PROPOSITION 

NO CO-OPERATIVE SCHEME 

NO IRRIGATION PROJECT 

NO WILD LANDS 



Just the simple tacts about acquiring outright 
an income -producing home property in a 
land of sunshine, culture, magnificent climate, 
and of true American ideals and traditions. 

SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

^ MOBILE, ALABAMA 

NORTHERN OFFICE: 
AMERICAN TRUST BLDG., CLARK AND MONROE STS. 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 






Copyright, 1908 

Copyright, 1909 

Copyright, 1912 

by 

Percival P. Smith 



€dA300785 



FOREWORD. 

THE following pages present, in condensed 
form, the vital facts and statistics regard- 
ing the culture of Pecans and Satsuma 
Oranges. 

Not many years ago much of this information 
was unobtainable or undetermined. Today it is 
an open book to those who wish to take time to 
investigate. 

There are many reliable and authentic sources 
of information at hand, among which are the num- 
erous Bulletins and Reports bearing upon Nut 
Culture that have been issued by the U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture ; the Reports of the Agri- 
cultural Experiment Stations and of the Agricul- 
tural Departments of Southern States ; the pub- 
lished proceedings of National and State Horti- 
cultural Societies and Nut Growers' Associations ; 
the standard books and Encyclopedias on American 
Horticulture, and the various periodicals which are 
devoted entirely or in part to Nut Culture in this 
country. 

In addition to information gathered from such 
sources, many active, growing districts may be vis- 
ited ; growers, experts, and dealers, may be con- 
sulted ; government and other statistics covering 



markets, importations, supply and demand, etc., 
may be secured. There is besides all this a vast 
and instructive fund of information obtainable 
through historical, botanical and scientific channels. 

A comprehensive two-year investigation of the 
whole matter by Chicago business men, under the 
direction of a present member of the organization 
whose previous horticultural experience especially 
fitted him for the work, resulted, four years ago, in 
the formation of the South Orchards Company. 

These six years of continuous, active, earnest 
work, — the investigation of the industry, the selec- 
tion and platting of the property, the preparation 
of the land, the planting of the trees, and the cul- 
tural work, culminating in 1911 in the gathering of 
the first nuts and oranges from a property, zvhicJi is 
today the largest combination Pecan and Satsuma 
Orange Orchard in existence, — have been years 
of intense, absorbing interest, as well as years of 
confirmation and proof. 

The Company is now developing 800 acres for its 
own orchard, and in conjunction therewith, as here- 
inafter described, is developing orchards in smaller 
tracts for those who wish to purchase. 

The facts here set forth constitute as complete a 
digest of the subject as can be crowded into limited 
space. 

SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY. 




THE PAPER-SHELL PECAN. 




O matter how briefly one may tell the 
story of the paper-shell or cultivated 
pecan, it is necessary to go somewhat 
into its history and give a few facts 
regarding its ancestor, the wild pecan. 
While the paper-shell pecan is the 
product of approximately the last half century, the 
wild pecan is many centuries old. 

Past or present, however, the story is one that 
is confined to this country alone. 

The pecan is purely an American tree. Except 
for a few scattering groves in the north of Mex- 
ico, it grows nowhere in the world outside of the 
central and southern parts of the United States. 

As a forest or timber tree it is found in the 
Mississippi Valley as far north as Missouri and 

Page Seven 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

Illinois, but the farther north it is found the less 
crop it bears, its fruiting area being confined al- 
most entirely to the Gulf Coast States. 

General Characteristics. 

Belonging to the hickory family (Hicoria Pe- 
can) the pecan is hardy and long-lived. In fact, 
it lives for centuries and bears from comparative 
infancy to old age. 

Several great trees that were recently destroyed 
near Mobile, Alabama, showed by their rings or 
layers of annual growth that they were over six 
hundred years old. They were still bearing. 

In general appearance and in certain habits of 
growth, especially in the forest, the pecan much 
resembles the oak. 

Its root system radiates from a large central 
tap root which goes deep into the ground, and 
through which it draws a never failing supply of 
moisture. 

This peculiar root system makes it proof against 
drouths. On the other hand, it is not adversely 
affected by excess moisture. Wild trees in some 
sections of the South thrive well on bottom lands 
that are covered deep with water for weeks each 
year. 

Extreme cold weather has never been known 
to kill pecan trees, and as they bloom late in the 

Page Eight 



S O UTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

spring, the crop is never injured or destroyed by 
late frosts. 

Native Soils. 

The forest pecan tree is native to the rich al- 
luvial bottom lands along the rivers and streams 
of the South. In these soils it grows to immense 
size, sometimes over two hundred feet in height, 
but its crop is usually of inferior and uncertain 
yield, and the rank growth of wood and foliage 
retards the bearing age of the young tree. 

The prolific nut-bearing pecan tree thrives best 
in the sandy loam soils of the Gulf Coast. In 
these soils it reaches its greatest crop possibili- 
ties, its yield being regular and certain. It is 
here that the finest nuts are produced, — those 
varieities noted for their extraordinary size, thin 
shells and excellent flavor. Here, also, the young 
trees reach bearing age quickest, generally in about 
half the time required in the richer soils. 

Historical. 

History tells us that the followers of Bienville 
(the French explorer who, in 1699, planted the 
flag of France on the west shore of Mobile Bay), 
found the Indians using the nuts of the pecan tree 
as one of their staple foods. 

These nuts became one of the first articles of 
commerce engaged in by the early French set- 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

tiers, and we find frequent mention of them by 
the writers and historians of that period. 

From the time of these first settlers until about 
fifteen or twenty years ago the annual harvesting 
and marketing of the wild pecan crop was to the 
people of the South, more a matter of pleasure than 
of profit. 

Twenty years ago the wild nuts were sold as low 
as three-quarters of a cent per pound. Since then 
the constantly increasing demand has brought the 
market up to where the grower receives from 10 
to 20 cents per pound. 

The Old and the New. 

With the possible exception of a few of the 
facts stated above, there has never been much 
to create interest in the pecan tree, its habits or 
its product, until within recent years. 

Although few people north of Mason and 
Dixon's line know anything about the tree itself, 
almost every one is familiar with the ordinary 
wild or seedling nut. Its shell is hard to crack, 
its inner partitions are thick and bitter, it is from 
one-half to three-quarters of an inch in length, and 
averages about one hundred and twenty to two 
hundred to the pound. 

Now, although it has been without the usual 
blare of trumpets and red fire attending revolutions, 




Full Grown Pecan Tree. 
(Courtesy of Dr. C. F. Millspaugh, Curator, Field Museum of Natural History. 

Page Ele 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

something has been quietly accomplished in the 
pecan world that is certainly revolutionary in its 
results and possibilities. 

This something is the development of the paper- 
shell or improved pecan. 

Outside of the districts where it is being propa- 
gated, few people have even a slight conception 
of either the present value or the future possibili- 
ties of this wonderful American product. 

Few Northerners have ever even seen a paper- 
shell pecan. 

Those who know what it is, know that its shell 
is so thin that it can be crushed in the palm of 
the hand, its inner partitions are mere tasteless 
tissues, it is from one and one-half to two inches 
in length, and averages about forty to sixty to the 
pound. 

The paper-shell pecan is as large as the average 
English walnut, but it contains about twice as 
much meat. This is due to the fact that the 
paper-shell pecan is mostly meat and very little 
shell, while the very reverse is true of the English 
walnut. 

While ordinary wild or seedling pecans retail 
at from twenty to thirty cents a pound, real paper- 
shell pecans do not retail at less than one dollar 
per pound. Even at this price the supply is so 

Page Twelve 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

limited that they are rarely found in any of the 
stores after the holiday season. 

The Origin of the Paper Shell. 

Regarding the origin of the great paper-shell 
pecan trees, one recent writer on this subject calls 
attention to the fact that, as in the case of prac- 
tically all other fruits, the original trees "are freak 
trees, — generous accidents of growth." This is ex- 
actly what they are, but the "freak" feature is not 
in the appearance of the tree. It is in the size of 
the nuts, the thinness of the shells, the flavor of 
the meats, the abundance of the crops and the regu- 
larity of the yield. The original trees are rare, — 
very rare, generally long distances apart. 

The country west of Mobile Bay and along the 
Mississippi Sound is the only section of the en- 
tire South where the great original paper-shell pecan 
trees have ever been found in any but widely sepa- 
rated instances. 

Here, within a territory of but comparatively 
few miles in extent, have originated nearly all of 
the standard varieties of these wonderful nuts; 
such, for example, as : Stuart, Alley, Delmas, Suc- 
cess, Pabst, Russell, Jewett, Schley, Lewis, Havens, 
Mobile, Robson, Taylor, Money, Capital, Hall, 
Schmidt, Zink, Aurora and Clarke. 

This section has become famous as "the home 

Page Thirteen 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

of the paper-shell pecan." It is the birthplace of 
what is fast becoming one of the South's greatest 
industries. (See map, pages 26 and 27.) 

First Results. 

The early French thought well of pecans. They 
preferred them to European nuts, and they wrote at 
length of their commercial possibilities. They pre- 
dicted a great future for them "if properly cared 
for and cultivated." 

Not until about forty years ago, however, had 
any systematic efforts been made to cultivate pecans 
for commercial purposes. About that time the late 
Colonel W. R. Stuart, (for whom the "Stuart" pe- 
can was named), a retired merchant of New Or- 
leans, living at Ocean Springs, Mississippi, began 
experimenting along these lines. The early years 
of his work brought little but disappointment, but 
he persisted in his self-imposed task. 

To detail all the efforts that were made to- 
ward the propagation and perpetuation of the 
paper-shell pecan in those first years would indeed 
make a long story. 

But briefly : 

Colonel Stuart visited every spot in the South 
where one of these trees could be found, and se- 
lected the choicest nuts. 

Page Fourteen 




STUART 



SUCCESS 





VAH DEM AH PABST 



Actual Size ol Four Famous Paper-Shell Varieties 



Page Fifteen 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

His first attempts were made by planting these 
nuts that had been so carefully gathered, in the 
hope that they would reproduce themselves. When 
the trees grown from these nuts reached bearing 
age this hope was blasted, for the nuts produced 
were only ordinary seedlings. Nature had made 
her demonstration, but she would not repeat it. 

Then followed experiments in taking scions and 
buds from the great original trees, and root-graft- 
ing and budding into seedling stocks. 

These experiments were successful, and the year 
before his death Colonel Stuart had the satisfac- 
tion of knowing that the end toward which he had 
been striving was reached. He lived to gather the 
first crop of nuts from his budded and grafted trees 
— the perpetuation of the paper-shell pecan was an 
accomplished fact. 

This budding or grafting process is the only cer- 
tain method of perpetuating any given variety and 
is today followed universally by every reliable 
nurseryman who grows pecan trees. 

Colonel Stuart was the pioneer in this work — 
the father of the paper-shell pecan as a commer- 
cial factor, and of the great industry which is fol- 
lowing in the wake of its development. 

A few years later Theodore Bechtel, the origi- 
nator of the "Success" pecan, added the finishing 
touch to grafting processes by the discovery and 



Page Sixteen 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

introduction of the first successful method of top 
grafting pecan trees. 

Present Conditions. 

Rapid and continuous progress has been made 
in this new and wonderful branch of horticul- 
ture. 

The United States Agricultural Department, 
the Agricultural Experiment Stations, and the Agri- 
cultural Departments of many Southern States ; the 
reliable nurserymen of the South, and all intelli- 
gent and earnest growers of pecans everywhere, 
have helped the cause along to its present perman- 
ently established basis. 

The details of propagation, cultivation, and fertil- 
ization have been worked up to a state approach- 
ing perfection. 

The different varieties of paper-shell pecans have 
been tested and tried out ; the characteristics of 
each are known. 

The experimental stages have been passed. 
The uncertain elements have been eliminated. 
The growing of pecans for profit is today an 
established and well understood industry. 

Bearing Age, Yield and Price. 

To the prospective investor in pecan orchard 
property, the age at which trees begin to bear, the 

Page Seventeen 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

yield per acre, and the market price of the nuts, are 
matters of vital importance. 

Seedling pecan trees grown on the sandy loam 
soils of the Gulf Coast, under ordinary orchard 
conditions, usually begin bearing about the eighth 
or ninth year, but seedling trees are more or less 
erratic in habit and cannot be used with much 
degree of accuracy for purposes of illustration. 

No progressive pecan grower today, however, 
plants seedling trees. 

The grafting or budding process in the nursery, 
referred to above, has eliminated all the uncer- 
tainties of the seedling and has brought the bear- 
ing age of the pecan orchard several years nearer 
for the grower, as the following brief illustration 
will show. 

The pecan nurseryman begins, of course, with 
the planting of the nut, and produces a seedling, 
which, if he is a reliable and intelligent nursery- 
man, he carefully cultivates and cares for until it 
is at least two years old. At this age he root- 
grafts or buds into the seedling stock, scions or 
buds taken from a large or original tree of known 
variety, cutting off the seedling trunk and divert- 
ing the entire strength of the two-year-old root 
system to the grafted or budded section, which now 
becomes the main trunk. When this young tree 
has had a three-year growth, under proper care and 

Page Eighteen 




XUSSELL 



MOBILE 





FROTSCHER, 



AURORA 



Actual Size of Four More Famous Paper-Shell Variet 



les. 
Page Nineteen 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

cultivation, it should be ready to transplant to the 
orchard. This is what is commonly known among 
nurserymen as a "three-year-old" grafted or budded 
tree, although in reality it is a five-year-old tree 
(dating from the planting of the nut), and if it 
has been grown under right cultural methods it will 
be larger and stronger than an average live-year-old 
seedling tree. 

It is a much more expensive method to plant 
nursery grown trees than to begin with the nut, but 
it saves years of time and it is an absolute guar- 
antee of desired results. In fact, it is the only safe 
and sane method to pursue. 

If good, thrifty, "three-year-old" grafted or 
budded trees of the best varieties, grown in the 
nursery, as above described, are transplanted to the 
orchard where soil and climatic conditions are suit- 
able to the variety selected, and then properly culti- 
vated, fertilized and cared for, they will yield, dat- 
ing from the time they are set out in the orchard, 
approximately as follows : 

6th year 10 pounds 

7th year 25 pounds 

8th year 45 pounds 

9th year 70 pounds 

10th year 100 pounds 

These figures, of course, are averages, but they 
are averages arrived at from actual results that have 
been obtained by practical and progressive pecan 
growers. 

Page Twenty 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

From replies to over two hundred letters* of 
inquiry, sent to leading owners of pecan orchards, 
expert horticulturists, nurserymen, and others 
closely connected with the pecan industry, even 
higher averages than these were compiled. 

The above figures, however, can be relied upon 
as safe and conservative, as a basis upon which to 
estimate the returns from a pecan orchard that has 
been scientifically and conscientiously brought to 
bearing age. 

As stated above, the present retail price of wild 
or seedling pecans is from twenty to thirty cents 
a pound, while the leading paper-shell varieties do 
not retail under one dollar a pound. 

In this connection the following facts should be 
especially considered : 

The wild pecan crop, due to the cutting down of 
forests and the clearing of land, is decreasing 
yearly. 

Paper-shell pecans are as yet almost unknown. 

Nuts of all kinds are constantly growing in favor 
for everyday table use. 

Manufacturers of dainty confections, table delica- 
cies, candies, etc., are opening up new sources of 
consumption almost daily. 



* These letters are on file in the office of the South Orchards Company 
and will be shown to anyone upon request 

Page Twenty-one 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

Importations of nuts into the United States in- 
creased steadily from $2,497,150 in 1898, to $13,- 
717,104 in 1911. These figures give the import 
valuation — the amount paid to the foreign grower. 
To this must be added cost of transportation and 
duty, besides the profits to importers, wholesalers, 
retailers, etc., making an annual total paid by the 
American consumer easily double the above figures, 
or approximately $25,000,000. 

For these and many other reasons the price is 
never likely to drop below what it is today. It is 
more likely to advance ; but suppose the future 
orchard price of paper-shell pecans be based upon 
the present retail price of wild pecans — 25 cents 
per pound. 

Planting twenty trees to the acre, and on the 
basis of the above low averages of bearing age, 
yield and price, five acres will produce as follows: 



After Plant- 


Pounds 


Income 


Income 


Income per 


ing Tree 


per Tree 


per Tree 


per Acre 


Five Acres 


6th year 


10 


$ 2.50 


$ 50.00 


$ 250.00 


7th year 


25 


6.25 


125.00 


625.00 


8th year 


45 


11.25 


225.00 


1,125.00 


9th year 


70 


17.50 


350.00 


1,750.00 


10th year 


100 


25.00 


500.00 


2,500.00 



This showing may seem extraordinary to those 
unfamiliar with this industry, but it does not rep- 
resent the full possibilities of a pecan orchard by 
any means. 

Page Twenty-two 




Cultivated Pecan Orchards. ^ Twenty .tbre« 




GEO.M.BUCKLEY ENGR., 521 FIFTH »V. 



Mobile is 765 miles directly South of Chicago, 4 miles West. 
Page Twenty-four 




Red - U rou ,e o, MobHe-We* Sbo,e E,ec lri c RaUwa, 




GEO. M. BUCKLEY ENSB.. 221 FIFTH AVF. C" IC»- C 



Page Twenty-Six 



Red line from Mobile to Pascagoula indicates the route c 
to build a line from Pascagoula to Biloxi, which will conn 
and Pass Christian. Full length of red line indicates entire 




The Home of the Paper-Shell Pecan 



Corresponding numbers on map show location of 
great original trees 



Stuart 

Success 

Pabst 

Russell 

Delmas 

Schley 

Alley 



Jewett 

Capital 

Mobile 

Hall 

Lewis 

Robson 

Zink 



Aurora 
Havens 

Money 



18 Taylor 



Clarke 

May Russell 

Schmidt 



"-jswjs aw^osras as iust 



Mobile-West Shore Electric Railway. It is further _ planned 
1 the electric railway now operating between that point 
trie railway system when completed. 



Page Twenty-Sevtn 




MON LOUIS 

O 



Block E, Company's Orchard; Blocks B and C already developed, 
Blocks A and D being sold. 
Page Twenty-eight 



Red line is route of Mobile-West Shore Electric Rai 



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A 5 acre corner tract. Dots show Pecan, crosses show Orange trees. 
Details of Boulevards and Residence also shown. 

Patfe Twenty-nine 





Scenes on Fowl River and Mobile Ba] 



Page Thirty 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

During the early years of the pecan orchard, 
and until the trees are sufficiently matured, other 
crops can be grown on the same ground. 

One of the safest, best paying and most easily 
cared for early-fruiting trees to plant in combina- 
tion with the pecan, and one which can be grad- 
ually eliminated as the pecan tree reaches maturity 
is the 

SATSUMA ORANGE. 

Pecan trees planted twenty to the acre are ap- 
proximately forty-five feet apart each way. By 
planting Satsuma orange trees half that distance 
apart, sixty Satsuma orange trees may be added to 
each acre of pecan orchard. 

In many orchards in the Gulf Coast country west 
of Mobile Bay this combination is being successfully 
cultivated. 

The Satsuma is a variety of the Mandarin fam- 
ily of oranges and was brought to this country 
by General Van Valkenburg, a former resident 
of Japan, under the name of Onshiu, and has since 
been called by some the Kii Seedless. At the sug- 
gestion of Mrs. Van Valkenburg it was named 
Satsuma, which name it is generally known by 
now. It is extensively cultivated in Northern 
Japan, where there is danger of frost, similar to 
the conditions found in Central and Northern 
Florida and the Gulf Coast section of Alabama, 

Page Thirty-one 



SOUTH 



ORCHARDS 



COMPANY 



Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. It is the hard- 
iest of all varieties of the Orange family, and 
when dormant will stand a temperature almost down 
to zero. 

The Satsuma tree is dwarfed, seldom over eight 
or nine feet highland when grafted upon Citrus 




Three Year Old Satsuma Orange Tree. 

Trifoliata, a hardy frost-proof stock, it hardens 
early and seldom shows signs of growth until late 
in the Spring, thus reducing the danger from frost 
to a minimum. Even in the case of a bad freeze, 
severe enough to burst the tree, it could be sawed 
off at the butt and in two years' time would be 
producing oranges again. It is entirely thornless 
and bears when very young. 

Page Thirty-two 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

The fruit ripens in September and October, is 
of medium size, slightly flattened, and of a sweet 
and delicious flavor. It has loosely adhering rind 
and the segments are easily parted, this feature 
having given it the name of the "kid glove" orange. 
In color it is deep yellow — not red like King and 
similar varieties. 

The Satsuma is easily cultivated, practically free 
from diseases or insect enemies, very prolific, and 
ripening as it does in what is the off season with 
other oranges, it brings high prices. The grower 
usually gets from 24 to 36 cents per dozen. 

Assuming, however, as low a price as 12 cents 
a dozen, (and with the yield' per tree given below, 
which is much under the average yield) the fol- 
lowing table gives the additional revenue obtain- 
able from Satsuma oranges, planted sixty trees to 
the acre, as above described, in a five-acre pecan 
orchard. It also gives the total value of both crops : 



After Oranges 
Planting per 
Trees Tree 


Income 

per 

Tree 


Income 

per 

Acre 


Income Combined Crop 
per Pecans and Oranges 
Five Acres Five Acres 


6th year 


300 


$3.00 


$180.00 


$ 900.00 


$1,150.00 


7th year 


400 


4.00 


240.00 


1,200.00 


1,825.00 


8th year 


500 


5.00 


300.00 


1,500.00 


2,625.00 


9th year 


500 


5.00 


300.00 


1,500.00 


3,250.00 


Oth year 


500 


5.00 


300.00 


1,500.00 


4,000.00 



The foregoing statements are not estimates of 
possible, or probable results — they are very low 
averages of actual results that are being obtained 

Page Thirty-three 




Views along Bay Shell Road leading to South 
Orchards Subdivision. 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

today. They contain the facts boiled down. They 
tell of results obtained under ordinary conditions 
after the first five years. Whatever risks there 
are occur before that time, and as all orchard prop- 
erty which the South Orchards Company sells re- 
mains under its care during the first five years, the 
purchaser is guaranteed against all possibility of 
loss. He is assured of coming into possession of a 
fully developed, revenue-producing property which 
will rapidly increase in value and earning power 
from year to year, and one that will last for gen- 
erations. 

HORTICULTURIST. 

With any orchard property from which a revenue 
is expected, the conditions governing planting, care, 
and cultivation, must be properly safeguarded to 
ensure successful production, for the profits depend 
upon the yield. 

To be able to realize the largest returns from 
a pecan and orange orchard, three essential points 
must be observed : 

First : The locality and the soil must be right. 

Second: The selection of trees must be prop- 
erly made. 

Third: The care of the orchard for the first 
five years must be under the supervision of a 
man who knows. 

Considering these facts as a condition precedent 

Page Thirty-five 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

to the success of a properly conducted orchard 
business, the South Orchards Company secured for 
the head of its orchard work a horticulturist of 
national reputation. He has had entire supervision 
of the Company's property from the very start. 

Theodore Bechtel (referred to previously as the 
originator of the "Success" paper-shell pecan, and 
the man who first successfully applied top graft- 
ing to the pecan tree) is this horticulturist. 

Mr. Bechtel has entire supervision of all the 
Company's orchards. His advice is followed in 
the choice of varieties planted. He personally se- 
lects every tree. Under his direction the cultiva- 
tion and fertilization of the property is carried on. 

Being born in the nursery business, his father 
a nurseryman before him, Mr. Bechtel is espec- 
ially fitted for this work. For years he has been 
specializing in pecan culture, being proprietor of 
the Bechtel Pecan Nurseries at Ocean Springs, 
Mississippi, and having extensive pecan orchards of 
his own. 

Mr. Bechtel is originally from Illinois, and had 
a nation-wide reputation before going South as 
the originator of Bechtel's Double Flowering Crab 
Tree. 

The Bureau of Plant Industry, United States 
Department of Agriculture, and the Agricultural 
Experiment Stations of the Southern States, refer 

Page Thirty-Six 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

to Mr. Bechtel as one of the highest authorities 
in the country on pecan culture. 

MANAGEMENT. 

The South Orchards Company was founded by 
Percival P. Smith, who made all preliminary in- 
vestigations for the Company, and who has managed 
its affairs from the beginning. 

Mr. Smith, like Mr. Bechtel, was born and 
brought up in horticultural work, his family for 
several generations having been large orchard and 
vineyard owners and operators. 

THE COMPANY'S PROPERTY. 

Throughout the early investigations made by 
the members of the South Orchards Company, 
two vital and essential requirements were kept con- 
stantly in mind — the most suitable land for profitable 
orcharding, and the most desirable location for 
residence purposes. The result is a happy combi- 
nation of both. 

Soil. 

The soil in this tract is a sandy loam with 
sandy clay sub-soil, and is ideal for pecans and 
Satsuma oranges. The surface soil is Norfolk 
loam, of which the Government Soil Survey of 
the Mobile Area says : "The Norfolk loam is 
adapted to general trucking. The root crops do 

Page Thirty-seven 



jfifo&//-E. Ala. 




7f?£L£fS 7£o<>. 



Mobile's Newest Hotel. 



Page Thirty-eight 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

particularly well upon it. The soil is likewise 
adapted to nut culture, and most of the pecan 
orchards are found on it." (See page 42.) 

Mr. Bechtel made a thorough inspection and ex- 
amination of this property and gave it his unquali- 
fied endorsement before the purchase was consum- 
mated. 

Location. 

South Orchards Subdivision is located eight miles 
south of the City of Mobile, in Mobile County, Ala- 
bama, on the west shore of Mobile Bay. 

It is always accessible by water and equally well 
provided for by rail. The Mobile and Ohio and 
the Louisville & Nashville railways, both within a 
short distance, parallel the property on the west. 

Of particular interest to residents in this sec- 
tion is the fact that the Mobile-West Shore Trac- 
tion Company has begun work on an electric rail- 
way running south from Mobile along the west 
shore of Mobile Bay, then west along the Missis- 
sippi Sound to Pascagoula, Mississippi. This will 
pass through South Orchards Subdivision and will 
give a twenty-minute street car service into the heart 
of Mobile, with free transfers to all parts of the 
city. (See maps, pages 25, 26, 27 and 28.) 

The most frequented approach by automobilists 
and pleasure seekers to the historic section in which 

Page Thirty-nine 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

this property lies is by one of the South's most 
noted driveways, the Bay Shell Road. 

"This famous old road," quoting from a recent 
writer, "following the shore line of Mobile Bay, 
winds dreamily along under giant oaks and mag- 
nolias, garlanded the whole year 'round with fes- 
toons and bridal veils of the virginal Cherokee rose. 
Rich-robed on one side, with the rare, luxuriant 
foliage of the Southland, it looks out upon the other 
side across the waters of the bay, whose name is 
so closely linked with the history of the Gulf "Coast. 
It is one of the most delightful and beautiful drive- 
ways in all America. Several miles below the city, 
it runs into a romantic woods road, leading to Dog 
River (said to be the site of the first French forti- 
fications) and to several Fish and Hunt Clubs, 
which are lodges of leisure for fashionable and 
exclusive Mobile." 

Old Mobile. 

The City of Mobile, with a population close to 
75,000 (having almost doubled in size within the 
last ten years), offers every metropolitan advan- 
tage and attraction to nearby residents. It is a 
city of magnificent homes and ideal social condi- 
tions, has exceptionally fine schools and colleges, 
well paved streets, excellent electric street car ser- 
vice, thoroughly modern electric light and gas 
plants, the finest water works in all the South, the 

Page Forty 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

best of theatres, hotels that are unequalled in any 
city of twice its size in the United States (see il- 
lustrations on pages 38 and 46), and large depart- 
ment stores, with a few sky-scrapers thrown in 
for full measure. 

In the matter of transportation, Mobile is mag- 
nificently served. It is one of the greatest ship- 
ping points in the South, ocean liners going and 
coming almost every day in the year to and from 
all parts of the world, besides being the center 
for several great railway trunk lines. 

The South Orchards Subdivision is as close to 
the City of Mobile as Evanston is to Chicago's 
loop district, and in the natural course of events 
there should be a rapid and substantial increase in 
the value of this suburban property due to its 
proximity to Mobile ; besides, with the completion 
of the Panama Canal, Mobile, as the nearest South- 
ern point in the United States possessing a mag- 
nificent harbor and the best shipping facilities, will 
unquestionably develop rapidly in size, wealth, and 
importance within the next few years. 

"The Lay of the Land." 

Lying on a ridge or plateau, thirty to thirty- 
five feet above the level of Mobile Bay, except 
that portion which slopes down to the fifteen-foot 
bank at the water's edge (see map on page 28), 

Page Forty-one 



WILD MEXICAN PECANS 




ORDINARY WILD PECANS 




WILb PECANS Eft On PROPERTY OF 
SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

Actual size of Nuts, all wild. What does it show? 
Page Forty-two 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

this tract is of unique proportions. It is five and 
one-half miles long, and has a uniform width of 
one-half mile, the Company's orchard property ad- 
joining it on the west. 

Midway through its entire length runs a parked 
boulevard which is being constructed upon unusu- 
ally artistic lines, and which is a very prominent 
feature of this property from a residence view- 
point. 

This boulevard is approximately two hundred feet 
in width. Along each outer edge a row of mag- 
nolia trees is planted. Next to these on each side 
there will be a thirty-foot shell roadway. The cen- 
tral parked space between these shell roadways is 
planted with two rows of pecan trees, a bridle 
path running between them in the center of the 
boulevard. 

Cross-boulevards one hundred feet in width inter- 
sect the main boulevard every quarter of a mile, 
on each side of which rows of pecan trees are 
planted. (See page 29.) 

The revenue derived from the sale of the pecans 
grown on these trees will constitute a permanent 
fund for the maintenance of these boulevards. 

The degree of excellence to be attained in de- 
veloping and beautifying this boulevard system can 
best be judged from the fact that the revenue re- 
ferred to above will within ten years amount to 

Page Forty-three 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

over five thousand dollars per mile annually. Such 
a sum is undoubtedly sufficient, after providing for 
all necessary and practical improvements, to make 
this one of the most artistically beautiful driveways 
in the world. 

This entire boulevard system will be held by 
trustees composed of property owners in this sub- 
division, as a private roadway property, subject 
only to such rights of public usage as may be neces- 
sary under the laws of the State. 

At either end of the subdivision, and wherever 
public roads may intersect, ornamental open gate- 
ways of appropriate design will designate the bound- 
aries of this property. 

As can be seen, the above features give an exclu- 
siveness to this subdivision which is most desirable 
from a residence standpoint, and greatly increases 
the value of all properties therein. 

Surroundings. 

The land directly south of and adjoining the 
South Orchards Subdivision, and terminating two 
miles below at the junction of the Isle Aux Oies 
and the Fowl rivers, has been purchased, during 
the last few years, by Chicago and Mobile people 
who have secured it for residence purposes. 

In addition to many homes already built, the 
Alabama Country Club, with golf links, tennis 

Page Forty-four 



courts, etc., the Bay View Yacht Club, with large 
grounds surrounding, and the Rochon Inn, a spa- 
cious 300-room hotel, set in a beautiful, natural lo- 
cation of large acreage, overlooking the bay, have 
all been planned and platted. 

That this west shore of Mobile Bay has not 
been opened up for residence or horticultural pur- 
poses until recently, is due to the fact that mos 
of it has been tied up in large estates, since about 
the time of the Civil War. 

The property of the South Orchards Company 
cuts through the center of one of the largest of 
these holdings. When fully developed with U, 
boulevard system completed as above outlined with 
its long stretches of orchards and magnificent ave- 
nues of trees, and when dotted with .homes rom 
end to end, this will without doubt be one of the 
mos t beautiful suburban residence communities in 
the entire South. 

Natural Advantages. 

The rainfall averages about 61 inches a year 
and is very evenly distributed throughout the twelve 

months. 

The temperature seldom goes below freezing m 
winter, and rarely rises above 90 degrees in summer. 

The ordinary well water in this section has been 
analyzed by the Dearborn Laboratories of Chi- 

Page Forty-nv« 



' 




Two o: Mobile's Hotels and Views in City. 



Pag« Forty- 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

cago and proven purer than that from the world 
famous springs at Waukesha, Wisconsin. 

Garden products are simply unlimited in variety 
and abundance. Everything grows in the gardens 
here, and almost through the whole twelve months 
of the year. 

Oysters, as fine as the world produces, are found 
almost everywhere along the coast. 

For hunting and fishing, no better opportunities 
can be found in all the South than in this section. 

The climate — but what can be said that has 
not already been said, both in poetry and prose, of 
this land of rare foliage and flowers — the home of 
orange blossoms, magnolias, azaleas, japonicas, ole- 
anders, and Southern roses — the world-renowned 
climate of "the Creole Coast." 

Each year increasing numbers of Northern people 
spend their winters here. 

For generations the families of rich planters and 
the elite of Southern cities have had their summer 
homes along this coastal land "down by the sea." 

The great hotels along this coast keep "open 
house" the whole year through. 

COST AND CONTRACT. 

The South Orchards Company is selling only 
those lands along the boulevarded portion of its 
subdivision. 

Page Forty-seven 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

Under its contract, the Company develops any 
tract or tracts of land purchased, plants as above 
described with three-year-old pecan and one-year- 
old Satsuma orange trees, and for a period of five 
years from date of purchase, pays all taxes, keeps 
up all improvements, replaces all trees that may die 
or be destroyed, cultivates, fertilizes and properly 
cares for such purchased tract or tracts in every 
particular. 

This is all done at the Company's expense and 
under the supervision of its horticulturist. Need- 
less to say, this is a service that no man, unless 
himself an expert and constantly on the place, 
could give his own property; furthermore, it is a 
service that no man could afford to pay for if the 
'whole cost fell upon his property alone, unless his 
holdings were exceptionally large. 

Because of the fact that the Company must 
maintain a highly perfected and competent or- 
ganization for the development of its own or- 
chards, it can develop orchards for others in con- 
nection therewith at a cost much below that at 
which the individual could do it, or have it done 
in any other manner. 

At the end of five years the property passes into 
the hands of the purchaser, a revenue-producing 
estate, the first two crops from which will more than 
reimburse him in full for all money invested. 

Page Forty-eight 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

The contract which the Company enters into 
with the purchaser is liberal and equitable. As it 
covers a period of five years, it provides especially 
for two serious contingencies which may arise 
and which are of deep concern to every purchaser 
— death and financial embarrassment. 

In case of the death of the purchaser the Com- 
pany agrees to carry out its part of the contract 
in every detail, waiving further payments until 
after the end of the five-year period, if so desired 
by the heirs. Half of the proceeds from the crops 
of the sixth, seventh and eighth years will then 
be applied on the deferred payments, until satisfied. 
Whatever balance there may be will be paid to the 
heirs, and in any event the property will be deeded 
over to the heirs at the end of the eighth year. 

At any time after two years should the purchaser 
find himself financially unable to carry out his part 
of the contract, the Company agrees to return 
to him, at a stipulated rate, the full amount of 
money which he has paid on his contract. 

The present prices of the five-acre tracts range 
from $2,200 to $2,750, according to location — those 
on the main boulevard being higher than the others. 

Payments may be extended over the five-year 
period of development if desired. 

During the five-year development period the 

Page Forty-nine 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

purchaser may live upon the property if he so 
desires, but he cannot in any way interfere with 
the cultivation of the trees. 

After the five-year period, should the purchaser 
not wish to maintain a continuous residence upon 
the property, the Company will act as his resident 
agent — for either a cash consideration or a percent- 
age of the crops — caring for the property, cultivat- 
ing, harvesting and marketing the crops and look- 
ing after his interests in every detail. 

None of these tracts have been nor will be sold 
to negroes or "undesirables." 

All of the above mentioned features are specific- 
ally set forth in each contract. 

CONCLUSION. 

Horticulture is a gentleman's occupation, espe- 
cially the two important branches to which this 
short sketch has been confined — Pecans and Sat- 
suma Oranges. 

Xo hard labor nor mad rush of work enter into 
this industry at any season of the year. After 
the first five years the cultural methods are sim- 
ple — the labor light. The harvest season is never 
hurried by weather or market conditions, nor 
hampered by labor troubles. Pecans when ripe fall 
off the trees, to be gathered and marketed at one's 
leisure. Satsuma oranges when ripe hang on the 

Page Fifty 



SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY 

trees for months, to be picked and shipped at the 
convenience of the owner. The markets for both 
are always good, and the freight rates always low. 

Pecans can be shoveled into a box car like grain 
and Satsuma oranges can be crated and shipped in 
the most inexpensive manner. No refrigeration is 
necessary with either — this in itself being a big sav- 
ing over ordinary fruit. 

These crops are paying and paying handsomely 
those who are now cultivating them for profit. 

Progressive, clear-headed business men are today 
making splendid successes in these two branches 
of horticulture. 

Almost every one of them is steadily increasing 
his holdings and looking confidently forward to the 
greater returns which he knows the future has in 
store. 

These men belong to the New South. They 
understand, and are utilizing for profit, conditions 
that are real and substantial. They have investi- 
gated and have invested and have profited. 

To those who wish to begin as these men did, 
by investigating, this Company offers all facts and 
statistics in its possession. Whatever information 
it has secured, from any source, will be cheerfully 
laid before the inquirer. 

SOUTH ORCHARDS COMPANY, 

530 American Trust Building, 

Clark and Monroe Sts., 

Chicago. 

Page Fifty-one 



APR 4 1912 



George Seton Thompson, Printer Chicago 



